Mission: Remember
by BlackAngel1
Summary: While stranded on an island and out running danger Duo finds the love that he didn't know he had.
1. Part One

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from GW.damn.  
  
Part One  
  
The dark around me began to dissolve. That's exactly what it was like too, dissolving. Like when vinegar and baking soda are mixed. I could see that foaming white.stuff forming in front of my eyes only excruciatingly slow. It seemed like years had passed before I had completely come to my senses.  
  
I kept my eyes closed, remembering my training. I kept my breathing regular as I noticed that I was lying on my left side and my wrists were bound along with my ankles. I could feel no pain in my body, except for a slight tingling sensation in my left arm from lying on it for so long. How long had I been there anyway? I couldn't remember, it didn't matter much though. The smell around me was enough to trigger my memory of what had happened, I quickly pushed the thought away. It disgusted me and the way I felt I would have hurled. There may have been no pain but I still felt like crap.  
  
All I could hear was breathing, other then mine. Slowly, I cracked my eyes open already knowing what I was going to find. I came face to face with a small blonde boy, see? Throwing up would have been a bad thing. His face was dirty, so unlike him. His once beautiful golden blonde hair that always caught the rays of the sun and shined with life was in a state of disarray and coated with blood and mud, among other things.I shuttered at the thought of 'other things', remembering what had happened yet again, this time almost unable to shove the thought aside. The evidence of what had happened was still clear. Quatre's suit had been ripped in all the right places to give proof and he smelled of bad sex.  
  
I noticed his wrists were bound like mine, then they had been bound /to/ mine. I moved my ankles slightly and saw his body move. His feet were bound to mine too. I sighed to myself, glad that we were alone, but mad because now I could think. I didn't want to think, it was the last thing I wanted or needed. Whenever I thought I remembered and I immediately saw Quatre being raped over and over again.  
  
They had wanted me at first but what they wanted most was to hurt me, I had been a smart ass and as usual my mouth caused more harm than not. Quatre had known about my past, the only other living human who did besides myself. So that sweet, selfless, most kind, gentle and loving human being gave himself up to save me. But he wasn't human. He was a complete angel, my guardian angel. As they literally ripped his clothes off, that black and red space suit, I expected to see wings growing from his slender back. But there was nothing, only his pure tears, full of innocents and life and the gentle whimpers as they took him, tainting him with sin, stealing the only innocence he had been able to keep during the war, right before my eyes. He wouldn't scream. His training wouldn't allow it. To tell you the truth, despite my training, I would have screamed like a baby. As it was I was whimpering every time he did and I couldn't stop my tears  
  
After the two of them were done with him, they had attacked his childlike body alone, more than a few times between each person. Then they had mauled the crying angel together, ripping his soul and heart in two, not to mention his battered body. But that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was just before he passed out. He turned to me and smiled so sincerely that my throat had closed up. Then words that I'd never forget fell from his still trembling lips.  
  
"I should have been yours Duo."  
  
The little Arabian brat had been harboring feelings for me and hadn't even bothered to tell me. Instead he had kept them to himself. We had no secrets from each other.at least that's what I had thought. He would have been willing to give himself to me without hesitation, without regret.  
  
"You baka." I whispered looking at the unconscious form in front of me. He looked peaceful lying there, even after what had happened, even though he was a mess. I moved my hands, straining my bonds and cutting off the circulation in my hands. But it didn't matter, I held Quatre's dirt coated hands in mine, I bent my arms and kissed his fingers. They were cold against my dry lips.  
  
A light moan of protest escaped from my angel as he fought his way to consciousness. His beautiful, priceless sapphire blue eyes fluttered open. He blinked several times then looked at me confused, "What happened?" He whispered. Just hearing his voice made my heart hurt. I could feel his pain from just listening to him.  
  
"You were beaten." I told half the truth.  
  
"Oh." He looked at our hands and gently caressed my fingers with his, then he looked back into my eyes as if searching for something. When he didn't find it, he opened his mouth, "Who are you?" He finally asked.  
  
Surprisingly, I wasn't surprised. My heart was too broken to be surprised. He didn't know me. My guardian angel didn't know who I was. But then I realized that this could be his second chance. He didn't remember what they had done to him. He didn't remember the war. He was innocent again. But how could I keep it that way? "I-I don't remember." Duo Maxwell never lies, yeah right. "But know that you're safe. I won't let them hurt you." I said softly. I'd be his guardian angel now; I'd protect him like he had protected me and keep him safe from all harm. He looked exhausted so I pointed this out before he could ask questions that I couldn't or didn't want to answer. "You look tired. Sleep little one. I'll protect you in your dreams and while you sleep on the outside." I promised as he closed his eyes and fell into a light sleep.  
  
I watched him sleep. We had to get out of there and I began to think of an escape plan. But one sudden thought stopped me and made my blood run cold. If I took Quatre back without his memory Heero would surely want him destroyed because he was a liability. I couldn't let that happen. So a destination after our escape would be needed. Not the colonies, it might trigger something in Quatre's memory. The earth, where we were being held now. Quatre had said that it was a beautiful place.  
  
But this was not the same Quatre I had grown to know. The guilt kicked in then and I was left to my thoughts. Without his memories, his love for me would be unknown. A selfish thought I do agree, but know this, I had never known love in the way Quatre would offer. I had been loved before; I won't deny that, in the same form as Quatre, another boy. But Quatre was different. I couldn't explain the difference if you gave me a thesaurus and a dictionary and gave me thousands of years. It was just Quatre. It was that love that had protected me from our captors' hands. I could remember it all so clearly.  
  
***  
  
"Look what we got here Horris." A gruff voice laughed as someone pulled me up from the ground. I was jerked to consciousness but as usual my training wouldn't allow me to act it. Where was Deathscythe? Had we won the battle? Why was I soaking wet? "Two kids in one day." The voice said as I pretended to be unconscious. "Look at the braid on this one!" Among the foul smells of rotting fish, seaweed and salt water I could smell him. A rotting garbage dump seemed more appealing.  
  
"Is it a girl?" An even gruffer voice started coming closer. "The other one fooled us." He mumbled bitterly. I almost laughed; they wouldn't have been the first morons who had mistaken Quatre to be a girl, and if I knew human stupidity, which after meeting these two morons, I was an expert on the subject, they wouldn't be the last.  
  
"Ah, that little one was definitely male." A hand unzipped my space suit and slid down into my boxers. I had to stop myself from tensing up and it was a hard feeling to fight off. "Looks like we got another boy." The hand withdrew from my suit and I was thrown down. I hit sand. I remembered now.  
  
The five of us had been sent to space. While there Quatre and I had received a mission on Earth. We had fought but were easily beaten since both Sandrock and Deathscythe had been damaged in space. Quatre told me to leave so he could self detonate but I wouldn't and told him we'd do it together. We stood facing each other on the open hatches of our Gundams and both pressed the detonator. Only mine had a problem and would never destruct when I wanted it to. Quatre's Gundam had lit up and exploded. From there I can only remember pain and when I hit the water of the near by ocean we were fighting by I was out cold.  
  
I relived this in seconds' time. The second guy's next comment woke me from my thoughts and almost made me shutter in disgust.  
  
"Well, you were touchin' him long 'nuff to know he was a boy. What d'you do to make him cry like that? It was hilarious!" He laughed. Quatre was at least alive, though I had to fight every instinct I had to start beating that son of a bitch.  
  
"He's got broken ribs er somethin'." I was being picked up again. The first guy, who smelled as good as month old rotting fish, threw me over his shoulder and the two began to walk. When they finally stopped I was placed into the back of a topped truck. Okay, so it was more like tossed into the back. They closed the tailgate and went around to the cabin of the vehicle.  
  
Just in case they could see me I stayed as still as possible. God, even Heero'd be proud. I could hear Wufei, "Maxwell, being still and quiet? What is the world coming to?" But really, I'm thinking back on this. At the time my main thoughts were of Quatre and how to get away from these morons.  
  
I couldn't tell how many turns we had taken 'cause apparently the moron driving got lost about three times. Finally the truck stopped and I was taken from the back. They carried me into a damp smelling house. I think it was a house, it was too dark to see by now. I was carried into a basement that smelled like stale piss, but as soon as the door was opened I could hear the familiar praying in Arabic. I was thrown against a wall and the praying was interrupted with a forceful slap and I heard Quatre fall to the cold dirt floor.  
  
"Shut up you little bitch!" The guy yelled, then pulled Quatre to his feet. The guy, now that I could see was a monster compared to the small blonde and to Quatre's utter horror the man pushed him against a wall and unzipped his space suit. "I like you better without." He grinned and began to slide his hand into the fabric as he leeched himself to Quatre's neck. I could see that Quatre was still praying, his lips were moving silently. It wasn't until he gasped that I finally moved. I jumped to my feet and pushed the pervert off my small friend.  
  
"Duo!" Quatre cried out from either relief, fear or surprise.  
  
The guy looked at me. He was filthy. His face was hairy and his hair was greasy and I could see food stuck in his mustache, that /thing/ had been touching Quatre! He looked at me as if he had seen a ghost, then his eyes narrowed at me in anger. "I thought you were unconscious!" He spat.  
  
"Wow, you thought? That must have been a great achievement. Don't you /ever/ touch him again!" I was seething with anger. I could literally feel it throbbing in my veins.  
  
"I'll touch him whenever I wanna!" He huffed, but turned and left, slamming the basement door and locking it. A voice made me turn around.  
  
"I hoped you had gotten away." Quatre whispered. I looked down at him; he had slid to the floor. He was shaking and I could tell he was hurt.  
  
"And leave you alone? Nah." I stood beside him, "I hear you have some broken ribs. Mind if I take a look?" I asked kneeling beside him. He knew it wasn't a request. Quatre painfully pulled his arms out of his suit. I felt along his rib cage until I found the ribs. "They aren't broken, only slightly fractured." I said zipping his suit back up. I took his face in my hands and pressed our foreheads together. He had a fever. "What have they done to you Cat?" I whispered.  
  
"Nothing much more than what you saw." He whispered in return. His entire body was practically convulsing with fear. I pulled him into a hug, one of which he welcomed.  
  
"How long have you been here?" I asked, running my fingers through his knotted hair. I knew there was blood and sweat coated in those once soft locks and it made me angry that he of all people was suffering like this. Don't take that the wrong way, I know Quatre's strong, but I hated to see anyone suffer.  
  
"Three days, I think." He whispered and sounded like he was falling asleep. I sat down on the floor and let him rest his head in my lap, knowing that he had probably been too frightened to sleep during his time in this basement. "I'm glad you're safe Duo, I was worried." He whispered and soon fell asleep. I can't tell you how long I sat there watching him. It could have been days for all I knew. I eventually fell asleep as well because the next thing I knew was that I was being woken.  
  
Quatre was gone; at least he wasn't where I could see him, though I could hear him pleading with someone. But he was frightened and was speaking Arabic. This scared me, Quatre only did this when he was scared enough to soil himself. I had been around him long enough to pick some of it up and what I heard made my blood boil. "Don't.hurts.please.can't.anymore.please.why.stop.God.no!" With that there was skin to skin contact and I heard a body fall. I looked around and saw Quatre sit up quietly rubbing his cheek. There were tears threatening to fall from his red eyes and it looked as though they had roughed him up, more than before.  
  
"Please." He spoke English. "He was hurt as a child. If you have to do.that.to anyone, do it to me.just don't hurt him." He whispered, looking at the ground.  
  
"You a virgin?" Horris, I think asked and I suddenly realized what they were going to do to me. But Quatre nodded and the other guy tied me up, chaining my hands to the wall. "I've never taken a virgin before. Looks like this is my lucky day." Horris rubbed his hands together, and then he grabbed a handful of Quatre's hair and pulled the blonde just out of my reach. "You." He pointed to me, "Are going to watch it all."  
  
They beat him, raped him, beat him again and raped him some more and just for a change of pace they raped and beat him again. They took pleasure in touching his fractured ribs and laughed at Quatre's tormented gasps when his ribs finally did give up and break. By the time they were finished, Quatre couldn't cry anymore and the boy could barely stand. The bastards didn't even prepare him to ease some of the pain. They probably got off on hearing Quatre's soft cries of pain. Blood clung to his body everywhere, especially between his legs. He looked at me; some sort of relief filled his eyes. The relief that I was all right. Then he spoke.  
  
"I should have been yours Duo." He whispered. Before I could comprehend the words, his eyes rolled into his head and he passed out.  
  
Please Review.to be continued. 


	2. Part Two

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from GW.damn.  
  
Part Two  
  
I had dozed off in a feverish sleep; but a throbbing pain in my back woke me. I opened my eyes and came face to face with Quatre. He was awake, fearfully looking behind me. "Lemme guess." I groaned, "A really ugly ogre that should attempt to take a bath without filling the tub with piss first is standing behind me." Quatre didn't get a chance to answer before I got another kick in the back.  
  
I clenched my teeth to stop any sound trying to get out of my mouth. "What the hell do you want now?" I mumbled; keeping my teeth held together tightly. I noticed that my fingers were no longer holding Quatre's, but instead, he was holding mine. I looked across at him and he was looking at our hands overly confused. I would have laughed at the oh-so-adorable expression on his pale face. Unfortunately, I couldn't without the probability of me or him getting beat to a bloody pulp.  
  
"I ask the questions 'round here." Another kick in the back. "And right now, I wanna know who the hell you are." Someone grabbed my braid and pulled hard. It hurt like a bitch! These assholes were gonna die. They had a date with Death and Death wasn't gonna stand 'em up. "Now tell me, who the hell are you?" He spoke slowly as if I couldn't understand.  
  
"I can't remember." I mumbled. I almost spoke Japanese to be sarcastic but then figured it could have triggered something in Quatre's head. And him regaining his memory at that moment was not exactly what we needed. Deathscythe's cannon was what we needed.  
  
"What do you mean you don't remember?" He growled, breathing his rank foul breath into my face. I had to use all my willpower to stop myself from retching right there.  
  
"Is the fact that I have forgotten something that hard for you to comprehend? I thought 'I can't remember' was pretty self explanatory." I hissed. I was pulled up into an almost standing position by my hair, I won't describe the pain. Okay, I /can't/ describe the pain. It felt as though my hair was gonna be torn off my head. Anyway I was still tied to Quatre. He was pulled under me, so he was on his back. I was dropped and I tried to separate my hands to catch myself before landing on him and he had the same idea. As it turned out our hands were forced above Quatre's head and I landed across his body. He cried out as I hit his ribs.  
  
"Are you okay?" He asked quietly once he was able to breathe. I nodded, speechless. Being this close to him was the most indescribable feeling I had ever felt. It was a good feeling, no a great feeling and I never wanted to move again. And if that bastard hadn't grabbed my hair and pulled me away, I would have begun that forever.  
  
But well, all good things, or incredibly great things, must come to an end. I was pulled away again, this time the rope that bound Quatre's hands to mine came loose from around my hands and I was pulled slightly to my feet. Quatre had to bend his knees so I could stay standing.  
  
"I told you, I don't remember." I hissed against the pain from him pulling my braid. I wondered who he was with. Oz perhaps and he was only playing with us. The last thought almost made me laugh. Almost. They had turned Quatre into a sex slave and had beaten him so bad he couldn't remember who he was. Even Oz wasn't that cruel and they were really ugly.even more so than Oz.  
  
"Well, maybe your little friend here can help you." Foul breath invaded my nose and I had to turn away. The clown thought he had found a weak spot though. "If you don't tell us who you are, I'll let Horris here.play with him." The voice hissed. Horris lumbered over and drew near Quatre. I wasn't about to let him touch my friend again.  
  
"My name is Heero Rabarba and he is Trowa Maxwell. We were camping somewhere and were swept into the ocean by a large wave. You found us and beat him and now he can't remember who he is." Words spilled from my mouth faster than I could think of them. Whatever had happened to 'I may run and hide, but I never tell a lie'?  
  
"Heero Rabarba? Alright then, that wasn't so hard was it?" The other guy let me go and pushed me forward, I fell onto Quatre again. The two men left us and locked the basement door. We were silent and I knew something was wrong. As if on cue, Quatre spoke.  
  
"Is that who I am? Trowa Maxwell?" He whispered, "And you're Heero Rabarba? You lied to me, you told me you didn't know who you were." He sniffed quietly. I didn't know what to say, not one of my lies had ever blown up in my face so fast before. I mean whenever Oz caught me.  
  
"I did it to protect you." I said simply. "You and I are involved in something that is very dangerous. The little that people know the better, and since you don't have your memory.you don't know." I sighed. "You're real name isn't Trowa Maxwell either. It's Quatre Rabarba Winner. My name is Duo Maxwell. Heero Yuy and Trowa Barton are friends of ours." I began to explain to him about who we were, what we had done and how we had gotten there. I told him what they had done to him and at the end he was quiet, which was something I expected.  
  
"Duo," He finally whispered. "Were we lovers?" He asked quietly.  
  
For some reason I couldn't answer with the truth, but I couldn't lie to him either. "We never had sex if that's what you mean." I said.  
  
"It's not." He replied and my heart beat faster, wondering what he was getting at. "My chest is all funny. I think I'm in love with you." He whispered finally, "Is that bad?"  
  
I looked at him and smiled, then carefully slipped my arms around his body so my hands were at his back. He took this cue and carefully put his arms around my neck. We both had to do it carefully because our wrists were still tied; at least they weren't tied together anymore. "Of course it's alright Quatre! It's better than alright!" I said, hugging him as much as I could. I was lying on my side now, having slipped off of his body and my arms were limited because they were tied by the wrists.  
  
We looked into each other's eyes and I suddenly couldn't breathe. What I saw amazed me. His eyes were pools over flowing with confusion, but amid all the uncertainty there was trust. Trust for me, a stranger he had known for months but had just met. "Quatre." I whispered breathlessly. "I want to kiss you." I licked my lips.  
  
"I want you to kiss me." He whispered just as softly as my words had been. Silently we drew closer and our lips met in a tender kiss that lit fireworks behind my closed lids. His lips were incredibly soft, even more so than the softest silk in the entire world. I was once told that a spider's web was the world's softest silk. Well, if it was true, it wasn't anymore.  
  
He tasted of innocence, if innocence had a taste and even with a bit of dirt he tasted like chocolate cherries, something I loved a lot, and there was a taste that was him, totally and pure Quatre. The kiss was chaste for the length of it. I didn't want to scare him so I didn't force his mouth open or anything that would have perhaps made him panic and break the kiss, oh no, that was the last thing I wanted to happen. If he wanted something he was going to have to make the first move. Chaste as it was, it was long and when we finally separated, much to my disappointment, we were both out of breath.  
  
He looked at me, not knowing what to say. Finally he took a breath. "Did you return my feelings.before?" He asked softly. 'Before' meant when he had passed out then lost his memory. I could imagine a large line that was labeled 'Before'. Screenshots of precious memories were captured and hug on a black background that seemed to float in space. There was one of Quatre fighting in Sandrock and a lot with his sisters while growing up. One where he met each of the pilots because I know that meeting us meant a lot to him. And there was even that dreaded time with the Zero System. Then the line was stamped and new memories began. Darkness and confusion surrounded each memory. Quatre was unable to view the memories on the other side of the line, as if the line acted as a door and it was locked. Hey, it was my imagination.  
  
"No." I shook my head and saw his disappointment. "It's not that I didn't want to. You didn't tell me." I said gently trying to explain. I would have done anything to have that hurt look in his eyes disappear, I pulled him closer so that the tips of our noses were touching. "I didn't know how you felt until after they had hurt you. You confessed just before you passed out." I explained, gently kissing the tip of Quatre's nose.  
  
"I want to know how you felt about me. You act as though you cared but I just.want to know." He whispered, cuddling closer which was difficult because our hands were still tied.  
  
"I did care. I still do. Quatre, you were my closest friend. I can look back on it now and see that I had thought about you before, but I didn't bother with the feelings. We were in the middle of a war. Does /than/ really matter? We have now and we're together. That's all I care about." I whispered.  
  
"I want to remember. I want to remember everything, my life, my friends and family.you. If you care for me then I want the whole person, not just the body with a screwed up mind. There's something." He nibbled his bottom lip, a habit he had when he was trying to think of a way to explain something. "I feel as if I would do anything to make you happy. Is this new?" I could have laughed at his cuteness. It was like a child discovering things for the first time, and in a way, I guess he was.  
  
I smiled. "No, it's not new. You always wanted to please everyone and you put them before yourself, even complete strangers. I think it might have had something to do with your childhood but I'm not sure since you never talked about yourself." I shrugged, "You hated war and pain. Well, all of us did but you the worst. You even gave the enemy a chance to surrender instead of being killed. I admired your innocent manner." I spoke softly. Then we were silent.  
  
He took a breath. "Tell me about Heero, Wufei and Trowa?" He asked softly, shivering slightly as the room grew cold. There was no window only a very dim light hanging from the ceiling. I did a few quick calculations in my head and figured out it was about 8:00 PM. Okay, okay, I'm not as talented as Trowa Barton. I looked at my watch from behind Quatre's back. It had been under the sleeve of my space suit and luckily hadn't been broken by the fight, the explosion of Sandrock, the bath in the ocean or the abuse from Beavis and Butthead.  
  
"Well." I began as we cuddled even closer together. He was against a wall. I had pushed him there for two reasons. One, he'd be warmer and two, if they were going to do anything to him, I'd be in their way. "The other three are really quiet. Heero's supposed to be this perfect soldier but he's not, at least not anymore. None of us are perfect, we all have hidden secrets and we never ask about them. Trowa's a real mystery to me. You and Heero were the only ones who got close enough to him. None of us are really open either, though there are times when someone will surprise someone else and they catch a glimpse of the real person under the soldier act. Wufei's very honorable and has a problem with women. At least, that's what it seems like. I don't know why he's so...well, it sees like he's got a stick up his ass twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Although there are times I find myself to be able to relate to him." I shrugged.  
  
"What of my family?" Quatre asked quietly, a little hesitant to ask. Hell, I was a little hesitant to answer. I could tell him what I knew of his sisters, but his parents? Even I didn't want to remember that and they weren't even mine! I didn't answer right away and he noticed. "Duo?" He asked. I loved how he'd say my name.  
  
"You have twenty nine sisters." I said, starting with the easy stuff. He looked very shocked.  
  
"Twenty-nine.wow." He looked surprised.  
  
I nodded, "Your mother." Here we go, "Died when you were very young." He didn't need to know just /how/ young. I saw that his eyes widened slightly by the words I had spoken.  
  
"How horrible." He shook his head sadly, his dirty blonde bangs tickling my forehead. "And my father?" He looked at me hopefully. I didn't answer right away again and he noticed but said nothing and waited patiently until I answered him.  
  
"He's dead too." I said quietly. He figured as much. We were silent again and this time it wasn't broken for an extremely long time. I could see that he was crying, and I smiled internally. Quatre was crying for people he didn't know. "You know, you act just like you used to." I whispered, hoping it would make him feel better.  
  
He smiled slightly, it was forced but it made me feel a little better. "We should sleep, they aren't feeding us so we have to conserve our energy as much as we can." I said softly. He nodded and closed his eyes. I pulled him closer and he nuzzled his cheek against my neck. After a while I finally heard his breathing become deeper and I was able to fall asleep too.  
  
I awoke from a sound, and became wide awake and alert immediately. I relaxed when Quatre began to cough again, the noise in which had woken me. I rubbed his back the best I could until he had calmed down again. He was sweating and I could feel the extra heat from his body. He was still asleep and I didn't want him to wake just yet, wanting him to be fully rested. He looked like death, and I should know what death looks like up close, I'd seen plenty of it, hell, I claimed to be it. "You take him Shinigami and I don't know what I'll do." I whispered as I studied Quatre's face.  
  
He looked so young, so lost.so fragile. He reminded me of a small child I had seen when I was still a street brat on the streets of the L2 colony. It had been an outrageously cold night and I had been hiding in a back ally. Upon hearing a noise I had gone to investigate. I had found a small blonde boy huddled inside a small box. He was asleep but shivering. Since I had been near exhaustion I lay down with him and kept him warm for the night. In the morning he was gone, but he'd left a juicy red apple. I always believed that was his way of saying thank you.  
  
Now I was near exhaustion like so many other times since my training, I wanted to fall back asleep myself but I found this feeling burning in my chest and I felt anxious. I had learned about this feeling while living on the streets. My entire chest would become knotted and tight, then it would feel as if my insides were on fire, like heartburn, indigestion and it felt as if I was going to throw up. Something was about to happen and soon.  
  
Thinking upon it again I decided that waking Quatre would be better than to let him sleep so we'd be ready for anything. Just in case that something was going to happen /this/ soon. I ran my fingers through his damp hair as I gently kissed his face, his eyes, his cheeks, his nose and his lips, not caring if I caught his cold or not. No doubt I'd be sick soon anyway. "Quatre, come on. You have to get up." I whispered as he began to cough again. He sniffed, trying to breathe from his nose but it was stuffed. The coughing never died and he tried to cover his mouth but his arms were still around my neck. "Don't worry, just let it out." I rubbed small circles on his back, the rope digging into my wrists as they moved.  
  
"I don't feel good." He croaked, his voice was so scratchy that I could feel his pain. He coughed again but ran out of air, so when he could he drew in a shuddering breath and coughed again, he hurt his ribs.  
  
"I'm going to sit you up. It's going to be difficult but just go along with what I do." I said. He nodded and I rolled so I was lying across his body. I carefully lifted myself up by my wrists so I was leaning over him and his back was across the floor. "Bend your knees." I huffed, leaning on my wrists was painful, and I had to jump, being careful that I didn't twist his ankles or mine. As he pulled his legs up so they'd bend I jumped and shuffled my feet along the floor until my butt was in the air and my wrists were about to break, so he could do what I had asked. With his knees bent I could stand and I did, picking him up with me. He coughed easier now but just as frequently. Every ragged cough shuddered through his body and I was forced to hold him up.  
  
I looked around the room and spotted a box. Carefully I jumped over to it, moving for both of us. "Here, sit." I said gently and bent down so he could sit. I ducked from under his arms then brought my arms over his head. With my hands still tied I untied our feet completely and then his hands. I used my teeth to undo my own hands. No, they were definitely /not/ Oz soldiers. But I had definitely done a number on my wrists from the ropes that had been around them. The skin had been rubbed raw and blood appeared in places. But I had to ignore the pain for now, I had to get us out of there.  
  
I sat on the box beside Quatre and pulled him into my arms, he was terrifyingly light. When had he last eaten? He rested his head on my chest as he kind of curled up into a ball in my lap. I rocked him slightly and rubbed his stomach with my free hand, hoping it would calm the coughing fits. "It hurts." He whimpered softly and more coughs racked his terribly slender body. All I could do was rock him and automatically I pulled him closer, hugging him gently.  
  
"I know it does." I whispered. I had to get him out of there. This wasn't an ordinary cold. I sat with him until he finally fell asleep. As carefully as I could I laid him on the box, which was an old crate of some sort. I looked at the words on it and laughed bitterly to myself. It figured with Stupid and Stupider out there. On the box were the words 'THIS END UP' but they were upside down and the arrow was pointing into the ground.  
  
When I figured Quatre was as comfortable as he was going to get I left him and silently crept up the old wooden stairs. I stepped along the very sides, where the stairs connected with the wall, hoping they didn't creak. When I finally reached the door I tried the knob, just to be sure. It was locked. I knew the type of lock well, it was really old, like the ones I used to pick on L2. I pulled out a pin from my hair and began to tinker around inside. After a few short seconds it clicked and I could open the door.  
  
Cautiously I looked out. There was nobody in the room I suspected to be the kitchen. It was an old abandoned cabin, like those that belonged to hicks. You know the kind, they always find the aliens.or is it the aliens always find them? God, I wonder what those aliens are thinking about the 'intelligent' life on Earth. Slowly I crept around the house. It was empty and there was no vehicle outside. This was our chance to escape. I quickly ran back down the stairs and carefully picked Quatre up, then carried him up and out of the cellar. The movement had woken him and he looked around the room sleepily.  
  
"Duo? What's wrong?" He asked as I sat him on the table that was sitting in the middle of the small dilapidated kitchen. The only way I figured it was the kitchen was because there looked to be a stove in one of the corners, though I doubt it had been used in years. Quatre's eyes widened as he noticed where we were. "You got us out of the basement!" He was more alert now and I was relieved to see that his coughing had subsided for the time being.  
  
"Yeah, we have to hurry before they come back." I said finding an old backpack from the living room. I filled it with any food I could find from the cooler, which was also in the living room, and from the cupboards in the kitchen. "Here." I handed him a jacket and a blanket. "I'll carry the food." He nodded and slid off the table. I took his free hand and locked our fingers. "Let's get outta here. I pulled him out of the front door. We ran down the rickety steps and into the trees and brush surrounding the house.  
  
  
  
Please Review.to be continued. 


	3. Part Three

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from GW.damn.  
  
Part Three  
  
I don't know how far we ran after we had left the cabin, but we finally stopped when Quatre began to cough again. I knew we couldn't stay in the open but I also knew that we had to rest. So I forced him to walk until we found shelter, not to my great surprise or anything, he didn't complain.  
  
We found shelter in an old tree. It was probably one of the largest on whatever piece of land we were on. I figured we were on some kind of island, but where and how big it was escaped me. I hoped that it wasn't too big, but big enough to hide around on. There was a cave-like hole in the base of the tree and once inside I found it to be big enough for us and two more people.  
  
Two more people would have been nice; we had to huddle together for warmth, finding that cold air had been trapped within the roots. I was thankful that we had grabbed a blanket, and it was soon wrapped around both of us as I hugged Quatre close, sharing my body heat. My entire body was stiff from cold and fatigue, but don't tell Wufei that I was weak, ya know, another rant about weak onnas was not one of the things that I was looking forward to. Although he would have probably warmed the air up with his excessive talking. Ha! And I never shut up.  
  
I felt Quatre shutter from the cold. Gently I kissed his temple then whispered into his ear. "We have to be as quiet as possible and we'll only travel at night." He nodded silently, but was startled by a growl. I chuckled as I slowly and reluctantly left his warm body long enough to grab the bag we had dragged along with us. "We should eat now." I pulled out a can. In the dark I couldn't tell what it was, but it didn't matter, it was food.  
  
I found a sharp rock on the ground and pressed it into the lid. I had to do this a couple of times before the lid opened. The smell wafted up to my nose. Beans. Better than nothing. We had to make it last, not knowing how long we'd be out there, so we each ate half of the can. I felt better having something in my stomach again and I could tell Quatre did as well. He settled down quietly and let himself fall asleep. I hadn't been planning on sleep but I did eventually fall into a dark unconsciousness because the next time I woke up it had grown dark outside. Carefully, I shook Quatre awake. He moved mumbling something then he noticed that the world had fallen black. We silently packed everything up, then left our little shelter.  
  
It was a warm night, a big contrast to the coldness of the day in the tree, but even with the warmth Quatre held the jacket to his body, I think he felt safer with it. I walked slowly so he wouldn't fall or stumble in the darkness, not needing to carry him if he broke anything. Mind you if he had I would have carried him with no complaints. In the dark I had no idea where to go, just as long as it was away from the cabin. We walked hand in hand, mostly not to get separated. We traveled a long way that night; stopping to rest frequently as Quatre's coughing fits acted up. Then we'd walk until we had to stop again.  
  
When the sky began to lighten up from the sun, we found a small shelter behind a bunch of thorny bushes. Both of us were small and could easily crawl underneath where a small path, probably made by rabbits or deer had been worn. Together Quatre and I lay cuddled up close and watched as the sun rose.  
  
"It's beautiful." Quatre murmured softly as the sky changed from a golden yellow, to an interesting shade of pink. "I don't think anything in the world could compare to it." He said then looked at me. "Except maybe you." He whispered shyly.  
  
That had probably been the nicest thing anyone had ever said to me in my entire fifteen years and to say that I wasn't a little choked up would be a flat out lie. But I hid that and smiled, then kissed his forehead. His fever had gone down and I silently thanked whatever God it was who was taking care of my little one. "You could." I said, cuddling closer. "Sleep kid, when you wake up we'll eat." I promised.  
  
He nodded and closed his eyes as he rested his head on my chest. He was asleep within minutes. I wished I could have done that too but no such luck. I dozed off now and then, but every sound woke me.  
  
Finally Quatre stirred and sat up, rubbing his eyes. I sat up as well and we ate in silence, this time only eating a half a can of beans between the two of us. I was tired, but it would be dark soon. Quatre must have noticed or sensed my exhausted state because he told me to rest. "Sleep Duo. I'll wake you when it's dark." He promised. I was tired so I didn't argue. I lay down and fell asleep almost right away.  
  
It seemed like I had just closed my eyes to try to sleep when I was woken by gentle kisses on my eyelids. I sighed contently, not wanting to wake up but knowing I had to. I opened my eyes and Quatre smiled. The light was really dim and as I watched everything grew black. Ah, my beautiful black world. "That's a nice way to wake up." I whispered as he lay down beside me. I kissed him deeply and gently, this time he parted his lips. I wasn't about to miss this chance.  
  
"I missed your voice." He whispered against my lips, then slowly we ended the kiss. After a long moment of silence I heard his voice again. "Duo.I want you to touch me." He whispered shyly. That's not what I was expecting and I was a little shocked. But I could feel that his little body was trembling slightly.  
  
"Are you sure?" I asked quietly, wondering what brought this on. I felt him nod against my shoulder. "Why Cat?" I asked.  
  
"I." He swallowed. "I remember the rape." He sat up. I did too but I pulled him into my arms, cradling him close to me. "I remember that they made you watch." He mumbled. "I just want to forget how much they made it hurt." He shuttered.  
  
"Alright." I kissed him again, gently caressing his cheek. We kissed, memorizing the taste, the feel and smell of each other. For a while that's all we did, I wanted to give Quatre enough time to back out if he wanted to, but he never backed down, so I slid my hand into his suit. I don't quite remember unzipping it but I didn't think about it, I moved my hand between his legs, before I touched him, I stopped and looked into his eyes. "If you want me to stop, just say so." I whispered.  
  
He nodded. I pulled him into a kiss and began to touch him, sliding my fingers across the heated flesh. He whimpered into my mouth as I curled my fingers around his shaft, knowing we had to be quiet. He wrapped his arms around my neck and deepened the kiss. I nipped at his tongue gently as I rubbed the swollen head with my thumb. He thrust up into my hand.  
  
After a while he broke the kiss with a whimper and whispered softly, "I think I'm cumming." I gently pushed him so he lay back. I leaned forward and captured the leaking tip in my mouth. I flicked my tongue over the slit, that's all he needed. With a gasp he filled my mouth with his innocence and if you think about it, since he had almost no memory of who he really was, it was his first time.  
  
I swallowed the bitter, yet sweet liquid, then lay down beside him. I couldn't see his face but could imagine. "Are you alright?" I whispered. He was calming down now and his breathing was steadying.  
  
"Yeah. Thanks Duo." He whispered zipping up his suit. "I.I love you." He said, not knowing if he had the right to say the words. It was almost a question.  
  
I smiled, "I love you too Quatre. Once you're ready we'll go. We can't stay here much longer." I found his hand and helped him to sit up. He didn't say anything, probably responding with a nod. We quietly packed up and started walking again. We walked hand in hand, this time for other reasons than to keep from being separated. He had the bag this time and I carried the blanket, tucked under my arm. He had the jacket on again and again; it was still warm out.  
  
While we walked in the darkness I spoke. "What made you remember?" I asked softly.  
  
"I smelled something." He said, stumbling a bit.  
  
"What?" I caught him before he fell to the ground. He didn't say anything and we walked for a little bit more.  
  
"Dirt." He said.  
  
"Huh?" I didn't know what he was talking about.  
  
"I smelled dirt. That's what made me remember." He explained. I remembered back to the cellar and the cold dirt floor. Maybe he'd remember with another smell. I knew he wasn't ready to remember everything. Quatre had always had a guilty conscience.  
  
"I hope you're not hurt if you remember anything else." I said sincerely. My foot sank a bit and I realized we had made it to a beach. It was the same beach I had washed up on. I could still see the footprints of Batman and Robin and the Bat-car as light reflected off the water from the almost full moon and lightening sky. It made the imprints in the same shadowed.  
  
The waves were gently lapping against the soft sand. I imagined going barefoot in the warm grains, walking hand in hand with the sweet blonde beside me. I took a deep breath, my lungs filling with salt air.  
  
"It's peaceful." Quatre stated quietly. We had stopped walking and were now admiring the view of the water.  
  
"Hai." I nodded, speaking just as quietly. He gave no indication of whether or not he understood. "Let's walk." I tugged on his hand. He followed me and we walked through the sand.  
  
"I want to run." Quatre suddenly spoke quietly, as if him wanting to run was a bad thing. I grinned and led him to a large rock. I dropped the blanket in the sand by a few rocks then helped him with the bag and jacket, setting them with the blanket.  
  
"So, let's run." I said finally and I caught him smiling. "You're beautiful when you smile." I whispered, leaning in to kiss him. "But then again you're always beautiful." I closed my eyes and leaned further but hit nothing. Expect sand. I looked up from my new position in the sand and found that Quatre had moved back out of my reach.  
  
Quatre was trying to stifle a giggle by covering his mouth with a slender hand. "Gomennasai Duo-kun, but you have to catch me first." He said sweetly. I grinned evilly and he gasped and then giggled and turned, running through the sand.  
  
I jumped up and ran after him. He was still weak so he wasn't running very fast since his ribs were probably bothering him, so I made sure I didn't catch him. Besides, the chase was always the fun part. He ran through a wave when I did finally decide to catch him. We landed in the water in a mass of giggles, legs and arms. Finally we separated. The water was warm and our spacesuits easily acted as wet suits. I looked over and found Quatre lying on his back, his eyes were closed and he was smiling.  
  
I moved and crawled over the length of his body so my feet were above his. I was floating slightly so there was no weight on his body. I kissed his chin, making him open his eyes. He smiled and giggled.  
  
"I caught you." I whispered, wrapping my arms around his waist from under the water.  
  
"Hai, you did." Quatre whispered shyly. "You should be rewarded." He said. I smiled and leaned forward, capturing his lips, softly pressing against them. I focused all the feelings I felt for him into that kiss. When we separated I looked into his eyes. "Sugoi." [1] He whispered and looked up at me.  
  
I laughed quietly. "You know, I never realized how happy you make me. I mean we'd joke around and you could easily make me laugh, you were like my best friend but.this is different some how." I looked at him. "I'll love you always. I would move the world for you."  
  
He was silent for a moment and tears fell from those beautiful sapphire eyes. "Really?" He whispered  
  
"Hai." I nodded.  
  
"Even though I can't remember who I really am? Or who you really are?" He asked, looking positively guilty.  
  
I kissed his nose. "Ai shiteiru. And I know you love me too. I can't see a problem with that. Arigatou gozaimasu Q-chan." I wondered when I had grown so soft.  
  
"Thank you for what Duo?" He asked, confused.  
  
"For loving me." I confessed.  
  
His arms wrapped around me and he hugged me. "Oh Duo." He nuzzled his face into my neck. "I can feel your pain. Why do you feel so unlovable?" He asked softly, his voice just above a whisper.  
  
I smiled, "I forgot you're an empath." I then sighed and looked at him. "Everyone I've ever loved was taken from me by Shinigami. I don't want you to die too Quatre. You're too special to me."  
  
"I'm not going anywhere Duo." He promised. "I'll stay by your side forever." He then giggled. "Till death do us part." He smiled, pulling something onto my finger from under the water. I pulled my hand out of the water and saw a beautiful rock that had been warn right through by the tides. It was smooth and seemed to glow; it was the perfect shade of black.  
  
I laughed again. "Quatre Rabarba Winner, I do believe that we are engaged." I grinned.  
  
"Ii desuka?" [2] He whispered.  
  
"Of course it is!" I kissed him again, we just stayed where we were, kissing and touching. When it all became too much we climbed onto the sand so that the waves still reached us. Quietly we stripped each other of ours suits, never breaking the kiss, and this was a very difficult task considering the suits were wet and were practically suction cupped to our bodies. Finally I pulled away. "This is going to hurt." I whispered.  
  
"I know." He nodded, wet hair sticking to his forehead. "But I want you to make love to me Duo." He whispered, trailing his fingers across my cheek.  
  
I nodded, seeing that his eyes were sincere. "As long as you're sure." I kissed him gently, knowing that I'd have to stop myself if he panicked.  
  
"I'm sure." He whimpered as my leg moved across his erection. I began to kiss his neck as my fingers attacked his chest, lightly caressing the skin over his rips and rolling and pinching his nipples. He arched his chest, moaning softly. I continued my assault, moving my mouth down his body. I could taste the salt water from his skin, and I wanted to touch every inch of him and his body, tasting him. I moved back up to his neck and continued to his ear as his hands found my erect member and began to stroke me.  
  
After a few minutes I whispered, "Turn over, that way there won't be any sand." I didn't want to see him uncomfortable and I was happy when he complied. Once he had his back to me I gently pushed him so he was lying in the sand face first. I cupped water into my hands and washed the sand from his body.  
  
Since my fingers were already wet I trailed a finger down his back and along his sensitive skin. I felt and saw him shutter. He didn't object so I began to gently kiss the small of his back, soon making a gentle path of kisses up and down his spine. There was a light moan as he relaxed.  
  
I smiled to myself, relieved that he wasn't panicking. Still kissing his body I reached his waist. This time, I used my tongue within his virgin territory. I know, he wasn't a virgin, but it was still Quatre we're talkin' about. I pushed my tongue against the tight ring and heard Quatre gasp suddenly and felt him curl his toes. I continued to work with my tongue until the ring of muscle loosened and my tongue slipped through, feeling Quatre's body tense with pleasure.  
  
I sat up and replaced my tongue with my finger. Glancing up I saw that Quatre was biting his fist to stop himself from moaning too loud. Soon I slipped in another finger. Carefully, so I wouldn't hurt him, I searched for that perfect spot. I knew the exact moment my finger hit it. Quatre bucked, grinding his hips into the sand while a loud moan escaped from his mouth. I moved my fingers again. He moved his hips faster but caught the moan. Carefully, I slipped a third finger into his body, scissoring them slowly, stretching against his tightness.  
  
Quatre rocked back, swallowing my fingers. "D-Duo.please.I need you.now." He gasped as I slipped my fingers from his body.  
  
"It'll be easier if you got on your knees and bent over." I whispered, helping him up. He got on his knees and leaned forward. "Are you sure you want to do this?" I whispered, leaning over his back.  
  
He nodded.  
  
Hoping against hope that he was really ready I slipped my hand between his legs and wrapped my hand around his shaft, he was sporting a hard on equal to my own. "Ohh.Duo." He whispered, moaning softly.  
  
I positioned myself behind him and touched the tip of my wet arousal to his opening. He shuttered and dug his hands into the sand. I pushed gently, ignoring the gasp of pain coming from him. I stopped when the entire head was in then waited for him to adjust. When his breathing steadied I pushed in the rest of the way and waited again. While waiting I accidentally grazed the tip of his sensitive cock and he shoved back suddenly, catching both of us off guard. He moaned as I did. Figuring that he was ready I pulled part way out, then slowly pushed back into his warmth.  
  
A wave hit us from behind, splashing around us. I pulled out again as the water left us. I opened my eyes long enough to see that he had dug his hands into the sand again. Quatre pushed back, meeting me thrust for thrust. I wanted to scream his name and I hoped it was the same for him.my name of course, because that would be just.weird.but we had to be quiet so nobody could hear us.  
  
Finally I heard him gasp. "Duo!" He whispered as he came into my hand while I pumped him roughly. With another thrust I buried myself as deep as I could and let go, releasing myself deep into his body, reclaiming him as my own. After a minute, I caught my breath and pulled out. Quatre collapsed into the sand and I fell beside him, keeping an arm and a leg around him.  
  
The sun would be coming up soon so there was a lot of light. We could see everything and I suppose that meant that everything could see us. A part of me laughed when I pictured Wufei walking up to us now, naked in the sand after having sex. God, he'd probably die from blood lose.  
  
As I had these thoughts I gently ran my fingers through his wet hair, making Quatre fall asleep. When I realized this I let him sleep for a few extra minutes before getting up and carrying him back to our stuff. I knew we couldn't stay out in the open in broad daylight.  
  
When we had first gotten to the beach we had both noticed that there was a shelter with no roof formed out of large rocks. And the only way to get into the /very/ small shelter was by a small slit that faced out over the water, so we were virtually safe.  
  
I carried Quatre into the shelter then pulled the other stuff in as well. Quatre awoke when I put him down. Since he was awake he dressed, as did I. After that we silently ate, but it wasn't a bad silence, it was an understanding.  
  
When we had finished I could feel myself growing sleepy and I could see that Quatre was having trouble keeping his eyes open as well. I held out my hand to him and he smiled and took it. I pulled him closer into my arms and we both settled down to sleep.  
  
I couldn't tell you how long we slept but I can tell you what woke us. Thunder. But by that time it had long since started to rain and everything was soaked. Including the blanket that had been wrapped around us. I could feel Quatre trembling from the cold; I wasn't much better off. I pulled him closer so he could rest his head on my shoulder. He was obviously awake as he moved, wrapping his arms around my neck.  
  
I gently kissed his rain soaked hair. We waited, hoping that the rain would stop and it would warm up, but no such luck. We sat huddled for two days, eating when we found the energy to move. My nose was stuffed up and Quatre was running a high fever, he had never actually gotten rid of the first one so this one was worse. Finally neither of us could stand it anymore. We packed up the stuff and got ready to leave.  
  
"Found ya." I heard a click and looked to the entrance of the shelter and found myself staring down a barrel of a gun. Okay, so the island wasn't big enough to hide on.  
  
  
  
[1] Sugoi - Wow  
  
[2] Ii desuka - Is that okay?  
  
  
  
Please Review.to be continued. 


	4. Part Four

Part Four  
  
"Found ya." Horris and Borris, the dick-fuck twins sneered at us. I quickly grabbed at Quatre, but Borris (That's probably not his real name, but that's what I'm gonna call him.) was surprisingly faster and he grabbed Quatre first. He twisted Quatre's arm around his back and the bastard pushed up hard on Quatre's elbow and I cringed as my friend let out an ear- piercing scream of pain as his arm broke. The scream went straight to my heart and maybe me want to rip Borris's face off.  
  
"You asshole!" I almost tried to jump on him but Horris pressed the gun to Quatre's temple. "Leave us alone!" I growled, seething with rage. Nobody had the right to lay a hand on such a sweet being. Especially an ugly and filthy hand such as the one touching him now.  
  
"It's not everyday we get visitors. 'Specially ones as cute as yourselves." Borris grinned, showing his rotting teeth. He stuck out his disgusting tongue and began to lick Quatre's cheek while grabbing my friend through his suit. My heart was ready to explode and I could feel my body quaking in anger. I wanted to cut his tongue out and make him eat it. His hand touching Quatre was bad enough.  
  
"Stop it!" I yelled, grabbing Quatre and surrounding his body with my own. I could feel how badly his body was trembling and once he was in my arms he sniffed as tears fell from his eyes. Horris grabbed my braid and pulled me out of the shelter. Because I was holding onto Quatre, he was pulled out too, which was probably for the better. The idea of Quatre trapped in the small area with no way to defend himself if Borris decided that it was play time gave me the shivers.  
  
"We're goin' for a little walk." There was a gun being pressed to the back of Quatre's head. I glared at the fat bastard, giving him a look that would have made Heero flinch. I pulled Quatre away from the gun. Seeing him threatened was not on my immediate 'to do' list.  
  
I leaned closer to the boy so I could whisper into his ear. "We have to listen, I won't let them hurt you, I promise." I put my arm around his shoulders and guided him further away from the weapon. It was immediately replaced, this time against my back. We moved, walking behind Borris and in front of Horris. We left the food and blanket, not to mention the jacket in the shelter.  
  
As we walked across the sand, my mind was stuck on auto pilot, pun intended. All I could think about was how we could get away from them, but every thought was dismissed as nearly impossible or completely impossible, (and then the category that's called "Only If You're Heero Yuy, Is It Possible!). I would not leave Quatre no matter what and I wouldn't let them hurt him, and because of our new predicament with his arm we were both stuck.  
  
I was deep in thought and I didn't notice that we weren't wearing shoes until we stepped off the sand and onto pine needles, twigs, rocks and other unidentifiable hard objects with sharp edges. Q and I limped through everything rough and Dick and Dyke wouldn't let us stop to pick stuff out of our feet. We just kept on walking, even after the sun had gone down and the rain had stopped. Now it was even harder for me to get away. Horris had tied my writs together and Borris had Quatre. Quatre was too weak to fight back but Borris had him on a leash, literally.  
  
As we continued out little jaunt through the woods to Grandma's, I noticed a flash of black and brown through a bunch of bushes and I was sure I heard a growl too. Great, even the animals were stalking us. For a second I wondered about cutting myself to give them the scent of my blood…maybe they'd go for Fatso and Lardass first and while they munched on the main course we could make our escape. But that thought quickly passed as the rustling in the bushes stopped.  
  
We passed waterfalls and piles of rocks, not to mention many, and I mean many, more hills and trees.  
  
"Alright, we stop here." Horris finally said and I was pulled over to a tree and tied there with my hands above my head. When it had grown dark the two fuck nuts had pulled out flashlights. With my hands secure, this time with better and much tighter knots I could only watch as Borris pushed Quatre in my direction roughly making him fall to the ground. Quatre protected his arm as best as he could as he landed on his side.  
  
I could see now, how swollen his arm was, he was suffering against his fever too. I looked at Borris who was gathering firewood. "Please." I heard my own weak plea, it was dumb but I had to try. Borris looked at me. "Please, let me set his arm. He's suffering…I won't try anything, I swear." God, I was pathetic.  
  
He hmphed and continued gathering wood. "No! Wait! Look, you can keep the gun pointed at my ass for all I care. Just let me help him!" I growled and he finally came over to me, then he roughly untied my hands. Ah yes, feeling! Blood flow, two of my favourite things! Anyway…I fell beside Quatre and looked him over. "Hey." I whispered as I gently took a hold of his arm. "This is going to hurt." I said and he nodded then braced himself. I closed my eyes. "Now, I'm going to count to ten, okay?" I got a grip on arm. "One, two, three, four-" I pulled. He cried out and arched his back.  
  
When the initial pain had passed he curled up and began to sob. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I searched for a strong stick. We were surrounded by wood so it wasn't hard to find one. I untied my braid and used the two hair ties to secure the stick to his arm, making sure to keep the bone straight.  
  
With that done I was grabbed and tied back up to the tree. Quatre weakly crawled over to me when the filth had left me and he rested his head on my leg. I wanted to run my fingers through his hair but I gave up on that idea. Instead I whispered to him, mostly nonsense, until he fell asleep, I hoped his dreams were peaceful. I looked over at Horris and Borris and saw that they had built a fire and a shelter. Just as I realized the deal with the shelter it began to pour. If it weren't for my damned clogged nose I would have been able to smell it!  
  
I was able to doze off for a little while before the cold set it. Quatre moved, sitting up to start coughing. I used my legs to pull him to me by wrapping them around his waist and pulling him to me. He leaned his head on my shoulder and continued to cough. A good ten minutes passed and Quatre was still choking, not constantly but enough to make it hurt. After letting out a shuddered hack he whimpered from the soreness of his throat.  
  
"Don't talk, it'll only make it worse." I whispered after he had attempted to speak but had ended up hacking and choking again, failing miserably. "Try to sleep love." I whispered, gently kissing his neck. Despite the rain he was hot from fever.  
  
"Cold." He finally croaked but began to cough again right after. His body shook against mine from the cold and pain and I wanted to hold him so bad.  
  
"I know." I whispered and pulled my legs up around him, hoping to offer a little more warmth. I began to talk to him, telling him what we'd do once we were back home. He hadn't coughed for a while so I thought that he had fallen asleep, which had initially been my plan, but then he cleared his throat.  
  
"Do I know someone with dark blue…no cobalt eyes? Dark brown hair?" He shuttered violently as he tried to draw enough air into his straining lungs.  
  
"Yes, that's Heero. Are you remembering?" I wondered but he didn't reply.  
  
Instead, he continued. "A boy with green eyes and funny hair? And a Chinese boy with a short ponytail?" He withered in pain.  
  
"Yeah! Trowa and Wufei, you are remembering." This was good, if Quatre remembered his training we could probably get out of there. But suddenly I felt him shake his head.  
  
"No Duo, I'm not remembering. They are there." He whispered. "They were hiding in different places along the path we took. Heero, I suspect was hiding in a patch of bushes." I remembered the streak of colour I had seen. Brown, Heero's hair and black, his spandex! "Wufei was behind a water fall, one of them anyway and Trowa was…well, he walked beside me for a while…he gave me something before he left." I grinned; Trowa would be able to walk right beside someone without them knowing it too. I knew we'd get out of there now.  
  
And I felt a little relaxed, that is until that annoying thing started to act up again, you know, my mind! The same thought I had thought in the beginning stopped me again. If they found out that Quatre couldn't remember who he was, plus I had told him about the Gundams, he'd surely be executed. I shuttered at the thought. If Horris and Borris didn't kill him first, Heero definitely would.  
  
Quatre woke me from my thoughts by curling up between my legs and coughing as he tried to settle down to sleep. I kissed the top of his head gently as we listened to the falling rain. "I love you Q." I whispered as he coughed again.  
  
"I love you too Duo." He swallowed as he tried to catch his breath. I waited until he fell asleep before I finally let myself doze again.  
  
I was cold, that's what woke me up this time, cold and very wet. I looked down to see that Quatre was gone. I heard his familiar coughing though so I didn't panic. Until I saw him lying a few feet away. As his arm fell limp at his side my breath caught in my throat. Flakes of blood covered his palm and I saw blood trickling from his pale, almost blue lips. His face was white and he looked dead, and if it weren't for the fact that I could hear his raspy breathing I would have thought he was.  
  
I pulled against my restraints. It was still raining and my hands had become slippery and numb from the cold. I yanked hard, slipping my hands through the ropes. Getting up, I ran and fell beside my friend. He opened his eyes as I wiped the blood from his face. His eyes were beautiful, so clear, so…innocent.  
  
"Are you an angel?" He whispered, as I watched his eyes unfocus and then focus again. His teeth and tongue were coated with blood and it made me wince slightly.  
  
I said a short prayer to Shinigami, threatening to kick his ass if I lost Quatre now. "No Quat, it's me. Duo." I ran my fingers through his wet hair. He looked up at me confused as he tried to stifle another round of coughing.  
  
"Duo?" His voice was soft. "I've never seen you with your hair down. You're very beautiful. You didn't even have it out of its braid when you begged everyone to go swimming the last time we were on earth." He finally coughed.  
  
I was shocked into silence. Finally I found myself. "Qu-Quatre? You…remember?" I whispered.  
  
"Everything." He looked into my eyes. "I'm sorry. I never should have said anything." He whispered, shaking his head. "Feelings have no place in war. I didn't mean to disappoint you." He was so calm, so ready to just throw his feelings away. But I wasn't.  
  
"Quatre, don't be stupid. I love you." I whispered and saw the doubt. "I'd never lead you on, you should know that by now." I tried to make him believe. "I may run and hide, but-"  
  
"You never tell a lie. That's you in a nutshell." He smiled softly. I echoed his grin.  
  
"Hey Borris! That long-haired freak got out!" Horris yelled. Okay, so Borris was his real name. Imagine that.  
  
"Leave him! Maybe they'll fuck again!" Borris laughed and my head shot up.  
  
"You perverts! You fucking watched!" I had never felt so violated before, and with my past that feeling surprised me. What we had done hadn't been meant for eyes, only between the two of us. "You fucking bastards!" I jumped up, but there was a gun pointed at Quatre. Immediately I stopped, growling deeply.  
  
The showdown was on and I saw Borris take the safety off of the gun he was aiming at Quatre, and at the same time out of the corner of my eye I saw Horris start to reach for a gun.  
  
"Don't even think about it." A familiar voice spoke and I grinned as I recognized the totally calm and cool voice of the Heavyarms pilot. A gun was pressed against Horris' temple and he dropped his gun.  
  
"You too you weakling." A sword was positioned at Borris' neck. Wufei looked at me. "Maxwell." He nodded, his way of saying hello.  
  
"Trowa! Wufei! Man am I glad to see you!" I wanted to jump for joy, but was halted when I heard Quatre cry out in pain. I whirled around ready to fight but was relieved to find that Heero had just picked him up.  
  
"We have to get you two to a hospital." Heero said, carrying Quatre passed me. He didn't say anything else as he walked passed the dumb fuck twins, who were now being tied up by Trowa and Wufei. They'd never get out of those knots. I had to run to catch up to Heero, I needed to, there was this strong urge swirling in my chest to be by Quatre. "He's had sex within the last sixty hours." Heero stated bluntly. "Twice within the past nine days." His eyes glared at me. Oh yeah, it was all /my/ fault.  
  
"They forced me to Heero." Quatre whispered, knowing that the perfect soldier could smell the sex on him and probably on me too. Heero and I looked down at him and I saw the tears forming in his eyes. He remembered…everything…  
  
Heero must have noticed the tears too. "We'll talk about it later. Sleep now, you're safe." I had never heard such softness in Heero Yuy's voice before. My jaw almost dropped. Quatre only nodded but then looked at me.  
  
"Are you okay Duo? Did you get hurt?" His voice was soft still and I almost couldn't hear him.  
  
I grinned. "I'm fine Q-ball. Heero's right, you should rest." I said.  
  
"Can you give this back to Trowa for me?" He held out his broken arm and handed me a folded piece of paper. "Tell him that I thank him and it helped." I took the paper and his hand fell limp. I jumped from shock.  
  
"He passed out." Heero said without so much as looking at me. I breathed a sigh of relief and unfolded the paper. Two words were written on the wet and bloody piece of paper in Trowa's handwriting.  
  
Mission: Remember.  
  
I smiled. Guess that our training had been so intense to accomplish a mission that even with memory lose, we'd remember. Damn doctors.  
  
I followed the guys as they led me up a steep cliff, part of the cove to the beach Quatre and I had left behind. I could still see the blanket and jacket from where we stood. I looked out into the vast ocean then looked down. "Hey! Deathscythe was here all along?" I asked, looking down at my Gundam, who lay under the water, looking back up at me. Kinda creepy actually…  
  
Nobody replied to my question, not that I had expected it or anything. We had reached their own Gundams.  
  
"W-what are those?" Horris asked as he and Borris looked at Heavyarms. They were so scared they had gone white and could barely walk. Borris even wet himself. They were completely scared shitless! I loved it.  
  
"They are your worst nightmare." I growled using Shinigami to help me look and sound evil.  
  
Trowa pointed his gun at them. "Those who have laid eyes on a Gundam shall not live to tell about it." He said calmly. I swear, Horris was gonna faint!  
  
"You mean I fucked a Gundam pilot?" He stuttered then realized his mistake as everyone looked at him. Neither Trowa nor Wufei had seen Quatre to know what had happened.  
  
"You did this to pilot 04?" Trowa pointed the gun at Horris's head as an evil gleam shone in his suddenly darker green eyes. I knew for a fact that Trowa cared for Quatre. I had asked him about it once and Trowa had said that Quatre was like family, the only other family besides his 'sister'. Q was like his little brother. Little probably because his body was so small. We won't get into my hentai mind – yet.  
  
"Hey! Borris did too! Don't get hasty!" Horris held his bound hands up as if to protect himself. Hm. Fat chance. Now that Trowa knew that his best friend and little brother had suffered so much and in that way of suffering, the Silencer wasn't going to show any mercy. I think things had happened to Trowa while growing up, though I'm not sure. Either way, the boy's got issues.  
  
Borris gasped. "Yeah but Horris was first!" He insisted.  
  
Wufei snorted. "Cowards. You should be man enough to stand up to the consequences. Weaklings like you do not deserve life. You aren't even human. Barton, we will take these two pathetic bakas and dispose of them away from Winner and Maxwell." Wufei turned to Trowa who nodded and began to pull Horris into a bushed area with plenty of trees. Wufei followed.  
  
I closed my eyes as I heard screams of bloody murder, followed by two gunshots. I only opened my eyes when I heard Trowa say something to Heero. The Wing pilot nodded as he used the hitch to reach the hatch to his Gundam. I noticed he was still holding Quatre.  
  
"Duo, you can ride with me." Trowa's voice drew my attention away from the two. "He is taking Quatre to a hospital on the east where Quatre will be safe and will acquire the help he may need. I am to take you to a hospital on the west coast." He explained.  
  
"Where are we Trowa?" I wondered, following him to his Gundam.  
  
"What was thought to be a deserted island off the coast of Florida." He replied.  
  
"Florida? Jeez." I sighed. So close yet so far from civilization.  
  
I was taken to a hospital on the west coast as Trowa had said. My story was that my brother, (who shall remain nameless though he was really tall, had green eyes and gravity defying hair and looking nothing like me,) and I had gone camping and had been trapped in the rain.  
  
I was lucky and got off with the flu. But my /brother/ wouldn't tell me of Quatre's condition and don't even think about me asking Wufei. That pilot had a stick the size of Deathscythe's scythe up his ass, and I planned on keeping my braid until the end of the war, at least.  
  
So, while I was left in complete and utter darkness Trowa and Wufei had taken me to a safe house. They knew what was happening, I found Trowa talking to Heero quite often and every time I'd ask about the small Sandrock pilot the bastard would hang up on me. After the fourth or fifth time he did it I had had enough. I cornered Trowa, okay so he didn't really fight me.  
  
"Look." I spat. "I care about Quatre and I want to be with him!" I was ready to tear anything apart. It I had seen an OZ Mobil suit I would have torn it apart – without my Gundam.  
  
Trowa calmly walked over to a desk and wrote something on a pad of paper, then ripped the top piece off the pad. His expression never changed as he came over to me, holding out the piece of paper. But his eyes told me that what he was feeling was worry. Quatre was his best friend.  
  
I took the paper and read it. Quatre was still in Florida. I looked back at the Silencer and nodded my thanks. I grabbed my stuff and left the safe house, leaving with Deathscythe. I couldn't wait to get to my koi. Quatre remembered, he knew everything we did and all that was done to him.  
  
All the way there all I could think about was Quatre. I didn't sleep at all, hell; I didn't even try to sleep. I don't even know how long it took me to get there but you should have seen the look on Heero's face when I stepped inside of Quatre's room. He was back to normal within seconds, but it made me laugh mentally. All I did was look at him. He understood my need and nodded, sitting back down in his chair at the end of the bed.  
  
I sat down in another chair right beside the bed. The entire bed was incased in a heavy plastic, trapping Quatre inside it like a cage. He looked frail and I forced the lump in my throat down and I took a breath. "How is he?" I whispered, taking Quatre's really thin hand in my own using plastic gloves that were attached to the plastic around him.  
  
"Pneumonia. He can hardly breath on his own and his heart was strained. I haven't gotten the CAT scan results yet, they haven't finished." Heero relied as if giving a report after a mission. I sighed as I looked over at him. His laptop was open and on, showing the hospital records on the screen. He had made Quatre a mission.  
  
"Thanks Heero." I smiled softly, turning back to the blonde lying in the bed. I didn't know what else to say so I didn't say anything. Yes folks, Duo Maxwell had nothing to say.  
  
"I wouldn't have destroyed him." Heero suddenly spoke as I studied all the bruises on Quatre's soft face, making it hard and ugly to look at…no, that's wrong; Quatre could never be ugly to look at. The dark marks only made me want to comfort him. I wanted to hold him in my arms and I planned on doing it once he was out. But for now, I would have to settle for holding his hand through plastic gloves.  
  
"I'm glad. I'd have had to destroy you if you had." I was relieved that he wouldn't have harmed my Sandrock pilot. That meant Quatre had been watched over by someone I could trust.  
  
"Duo, you're my partner. I wouldn't deny you happiness." Heero's voice was quiet and soft and I knew he was being sincere. But one word bothered me.  
  
"Partner Hee-chan?" I looked at him and smiled. "What about friend? Or buddy? Or even former lover?" I whispered softly. I saw his expression weaken.  
  
"Have you told him?" Heero whispered, which totally seemed out of character for me.  
  
I smiled. "No, no time to. And now isn't the time. I might someday." Movement interrupted me and both Heero and I looked down at Quatre. His bright blue eyes caught the hospital light and they shined angelically. He looked at me and a smile crossed his face.  
  
"Duo. You still have your hair down. I think it's beautiful like this." He whispered, talking seemed to be painful. I could see him struggling to breathe too.  
  
"Shh Q, I'm here now. You need to get better for me kid." I said, gently caressing his hand…damn gloves. "That means lots and lots of rest." He nodded, getting the hint to go to sleep. After closing his eyes he was asleep moments after. They must have drugged him.  
  
There was a beep from Heero's laptop. I looked at it and watched as Heero read the updated file. "Quatre suffered minor damage to his brain. The only noticeable difference should be his memory. Short term memory lose for a while, but not permanently." He explained to me.  
  
"That's good." I guess it was anyway, it was better than what could have happened. "Do they say how long it will last?"  
  
Heero shook his head. "Quatre should be perfectly fine in a few months." There was another beep and Heero went back to his computer. After a moment of silence, he looked up at me. "The doctor wants him to see a shrink…to help him with the rape." Heero informed me.  
  
I flipped. "He can't see a shrink! They can pry easily and play mind games! They can hypnotize you! A shrink could easily find out that he's a Gundam pilot! That we're Gundam pilots!" I almost started to hyperventilate. Can you tell how much I like doctors? As I moved onto the floor beside the bed Heero knelt beside me.  
  
"Quatre and I already talked about what happened to him. I believe he will be fine after time, as long as he's got someone he can trust to talk to." He said gently. "I know you take things personally, but he may not decide to come to you about it at all. But know that it's only because you watched what happened." He put an arm around my shoulders.  
  
"He let them." I whispered as tears finally fell from my eyes. I knew this confused Heero, so I continued. "They wanted to hurt me but he wouldn't let them touch me because of my past. He begged them not to hurt me Hee-chan." I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry as I played over the memory, realizing something. "It was him they wanted anyway." I could have kicked myself or thrown up.  
  
"What do you mean?" Heero had no idea about what we, about what /Quatre/ had gone through. Sure, Quat might have told him a few things, but he hadn't actually seen any of the shit we had gone through.  
  
"The first thing they did when I got there was molest him, well, the guy stuck his hands into Quatre's suit and touched him anyway, and before that, when they found me one of them said something like 'The little one was a male'. And the other followed with 'Well you touched him long enough to figure that out' or something…Heero, they knew Quatre would try to stop them if they were to go after me." The arm around my shoulders tightened a little.  
  
"I knew that too Duo-kun." A small childlike voice made Heero and I stand up to find that Quatre was awake again. "They would have hurt you if I had said nothing." He whispered as I moved beside him. Heero stood back. I knew he wouldn't leave, he had made Quatre a mission and it made me feel better.  
  
"Don't think about it right now." I whispered, wanting so much to brush the hair from his eyes. "We're safe now and we'll get through everything together." I found his hand again through the plastic gloves and gently squeezed it.  
  
Quatre smiled softly. "Thank you." His voice was soft and I could see that he had grown tired again. I would have stared into his eyes forever but they were closing. Yeah, yeah, I know it's sentimental and I'm Duo Maxwell, God of Death, yadda, yadda, but deal with it. Anyway, I smiled, telling him to go to sleep. He nodded, seeing my request and closed his eyes, but not before confessing something that made me, Shinigami and Heero, the Perfect Soldier blush a deep crimson red. "I already knew about you and Heero. /Every/one knew about you and Heero." He yawned and drifted back into sleep.  
  
I looked at Heero at the same time he looked at me. We both began to laugh quietly.  
  
  
  
TBC??? 


End file.
